Manifesting Destiny
by Wishful Thinker
Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead befriends a man who has fallen in love with someone else's Mail Order Bride. A romantic at heart, she offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen. AH, late 1800s Periodward. 8 Chapters total.
1. Penny Western

**Title: Manifesting Destiny**

**Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead finds herself befriending a man who falls in love with someone else's mail-order bride. A romantic at heart, Bella offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer.**

_**Author's Note: I'm working on a longer version of this plotline, but while I wrestle with the plot on that one I wanted to post the original short. It's written in its entirety, and I plan to release one chapter a day until it's all out. Expect the longer version to be out eventually, once I beat its climax into shape. Also, I've only been able to find historical references to 'dime novels,' but I clearly remember reading what my grandfather called 'penny westerns' when I was younger, so I'm sticking to that phrase. **_

**WWWWWW**

**Chapter One: Penny Western**

*Bella*

For as long as she could remember she'd been fascinated by stories of people going west. They came in monthly installments at the general store, a penny a piece, and though they ranged wildly from tales of gold and fertile lands to warring Indians and gun fights, the one thing they always had was excitement. Whatever was happening out there was always vivid and colorful, full of action and devoid of the monotonous, grey haze that seemed so present when she turned her eyes from the printed word.

She longed to go there. No specific place, really, just somewhere west of where she was.

Well, maybe that wasn't true exactly. There was one place that stood a slight bit above the others when she considered all the places she'd heard about out there, some real, most probably not.

The West was in her blood in a way. She'd been born out there, lived there until she was just old enough to have formed some memories of the bigness of it all, the overwhelming greenness. But then her mother had gotten sick, something about the wet air, and had moved them back East for her health. Just the two of them.

Maybe that was the reason she'd taken those stories so far to heart anyway, because in the prose she could hear the call of something familiar, something of hers calling her back to it. When she read about the conflicts between the cowboys and the Indians, she could picture them in ways that didn't always line up with the descriptions she read. She felt that maybe these images in her mind were more memories, that she was remembering real people acting out the penny dramas. There was a richness to the way she read the stories that she'd never really been able to express to her few acquaintances here.

Not that she'd tried too hard.

She loved her mother, and she appreciated her life here. They owned a fairly successful restaurant, and Bella, now that her schooling was done, spent most of her time working in it. But no matter the joy she found doing her part day in and day out, she always found herself, every month, waking early and hurrying to the general store on delivery day to see what new stories might have arrived. She'd be lost in daydreams the whole following week if there was a good one.

It was on one of these anticipated days, one which happily coincided with her sixteenth birthday, that Renee, her mother, sat her down unexpectedly for a long talk.

Though she'd long acted like one, today was the day her mother decided that she was an adult. As such, there were things she needed to know, information she'd been too young for previously.

She learned about the father they had left behind. Charlie Swan. He had taken the family West for work and fortune, and had stayed when they returned. She knew the vague facts of this, but Renee expanded on her knowledge, filling in blanks she'd learned about only second hand. Most shockingly, she learned that her parents had divorced years earlier. It had been kept quiet to avoid the stigma, and most people just assumed she was a widow.

But Renee had met someone. She was going to remarry, and soon. They planned to move South. There were already plans to sell the restaurant, and the small house.

Later that night as Bella sat quietly in her small room mulling over the events of the day, she happened to look at the penny western she'd bought this morning and had yet to read. This one had a small illustration, a real treat with roughly drawn men before a backdrop of giant trees. Loggers, perhaps. Though the ink was mere black on yellowish paper, to her eyes the trees were vibrant in their dark greens, heavy with rain.

Three weeks later found her tensely perched in a railcar chair, her earthly possessions settled on the rack above her head.


	2. End of the Line

**Title: Manifesting Destiny**

**Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead finds herself befriending a man who falls in love with someone else's mail-order bride. A romantic at heart, Bella offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer. Rated M for eventual lemon.**

WWWWWW

**Chapter Two: End of the Line**

*Edward*

The week had been unseasonably cold. Snow this year was early and the wind bitter. Edward was grimly predicting a harsh winter. If right, then the weather was playing along with his mood, which had fallen steadily worse as this day approached.

Several months ago, worn down from years of badgering from his aunt Esme and even worse nagging from his long-time neighbor Alice, Edward had reluctantly agreed to let them find him a wife.

That he had been nearly horizontal from ale at the time did not get him out of the agreement. At first it had merely led to awkward and forced introductions with all the eligible ladies in town. Later, it had moved on to even more awkward and more forced introductions with all the eligible (and a few of the not) ladies in the neighboring towns.

When Edward had failed to show any interest whatsoever in the women being thrown at him by the ladies in his life, desperate measures had been taken.

Alice had procured a paper advertising mail-order-brides during a trip into the city. By the time Edward was aware of this tidbit, she'd already corresponded with three candidates and was narrowing down the choices. To say he was enraged, and perhaps a little embarrassed to resort to such measures, was severe understatement.

Eventually he had calmed down and remembered the practical reasons for marriage: the sharing of chores, the possibility of children, the relief from his family. He even felt a little twinge of hope for the companionship he might feel, though he scarcely let himself believe in it.

Despite his private thoughts and his public complaints as to the possible character of the women Alice corresponded with, he went along with her plan and readied his household for a wife and for winter. The only thing she could not budge him on was his participation in the search. He absolutely refused to read the letters she received, and would not write his own, leaving her to attempt his hand instead and make the final decisions without him.

Eventually the moment he dreaded and secretly anticipated came: Alice arrived from town with a missive and news that his new bride would be arriving in two weeks' time-now today-and that he should know her by the aster she would wear. He was to hold a book and meet her at the train station.

And so it was that Edward sat, chilled to the bone, on a bench at the train station watching the people mill about. He had been late, due to the snow, but it seemed the train was later still. His nerves ate at him as he heard an approaching whistle blow. There was only one train due in today, and it was coming. His wife, whoever she was, was almost here.

WWWWWW

_**Author's Note: **__Releasing two chapters today because the first two are the shortest. This story will be 8 chapters total, and should be posted entirely in about a week. I am writing a longer version of this plotline, so if you have any comments or suggestions please let me know. _

_Also, I'm going to try something I've seen other authors do. If you review this chapter before the next is posted, I will send you a teaser of Chapter Three. If you don't want to bother, don't worry too much, chapter three should be up tomorrow._


	3. Strangers on a Train

**Title: Manifesting Destiny**

**Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead finds herself befriending a man who falls in love with someone else's mail-order bride. A romantic at heart, Bella offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter Three: Strangers on a Train

*Bella*

It was nearly two weeks of travel to get to where she wanted to go. The first train had taken her to Chicago, where she had spent the night at a small, seedy but fascinating hotel for one night. The place was grimy and full of strangers, but from her window she was able to observe travelers at the nearby station and so had barely slept for people-watching. The next morning she had quickly redressed in her traveling clothes, purchased a small, portable meal, and boarded the next train. This one she would ride for six days straight. It would take her to Seattle, and from there she would need to hire a carriage or perhaps purchase a ride with the mail wagon.

The nervousness she felt for traveling alone so far and with all her worldly possessions was relieved by the sheer delight she found in the traveling. Though she had lived in a large city and been surrounded by people there, it was something new to observe folks in transit, and she found herself wondering what drew them to wherever they were going. She also found, as she looked through the train windows at some of the less savory sights, that she was thankful for her security so far in life.

It was on the second train, the one leaving Chicago, that her ride really became interesting. On this train she had splurged a little, because of the lengthy ride, and had purchased a seat in a cabin rather than the main car. The cabin had four chairs, two each facing each other, and appeared to have small bunks which folded down from the walls. Due to the lateness of the season, according to the ticket taker, capacity was low and she had the cabin to herself.

It was only a few hours into this leg of the trip when Bella was drawn from rereading her newest penny western—this one about gold diggers—by the opening of her cabin door. The ticket taker popped his head in, and behind him she saw possibly the largest man she'd even seen before.

The ticket taker wanted to know whether she would be amenable to letting the man and a woman, who she could now see also behind him, joining her in the cabin. Apparently they had just upgraded their tickets from the main cabin.

Bella had enjoyed her solitude, and was wary of the interruption. The woman, she saw, looked distraught, and it was clear from her face that she had recently been crying. The man though, the giant who had at first intimidated her, fixed her with such a desperately pleading look that she found herself agreeing before she thought it through.

She was surprised when the woman sat next to her instead of in one of the seats across, and even more so when the man did not enter the cabin himself but instead assured her he would be back shortly and closed the door.

Silence fell on the two women. Bella observed her, taking in her red eyes and trembling hands.

"Are you all right?"

Her quiet question caused a shudder in the other woman, and it was as if the dam released. In no time Bella found herself embracing a stranger and patting her hair the way her own mother had once patted hers.

When the sobbing had ceased and the girl seemed able to breathe evenly again, she uttered a small, hoarse sounding "Thank you" and sat up, releasing herself from Bella's impromptu embrace. She wiped at her eyes and ran an embroidered handkerchief over her face quickly, obviously embarrassed.

Despite her rampant curiosity, Bella searched for a neutral subject and finally offered: "I'm Isabella Swan." She hesitated over adding an 'it's nice to meet you' but the context seemed wrong.

"Rosalie Hale." The woman offered, making eye contact for the first time. Even puffy and red from crying Bella could see the beauty of the woman before her.

The train slowing took Bella by surprise and she looked quickly out her window. Unlike the other stops she saw no town, only the countryside. Pulling out her ticket, which was printed with a small, blurred outline of the train route, she wondered which stop this was, she had though they were several hours from the next.

Counting back, she was lost in thought as the train started back up, and soon the door opened and the large man from before entered carrying two bags. He introduced himself as Emmett McCarthy, and Bella wondered as his relationship with Rosalie when he asked her quietly if she had any luggage other than that in his hand. She shook her head minutely but did not otherwise respond.

To break the strange atmosphere, Bella inquired to no one in particular "Do you know what station that was? I didn't think we had another stop until this evening."

It was Emmett was answered her, though he looked at Rosalie before he started. "There wasn't a station, they just needed to get rid of some riff-raff."

Beside her she felt Rosalie relax slightly. Her curiosity was almost unbearable, but whatever was going on, Bella decided, she felt sure it was better not to ask.

That night passed in a companionable, if slightly tense quiet. Bella read her penny westerns until the light faded, sharing one with Emmett after he had enquired as to her reading. Rosalie had eventually taken out some needlepoint and sat working quietly. When it came time for dinner the same ticket taker as before had come by delivering food, which Bella was surprised they all received for free "for the inconvenience" the man had said.

They ate and conversed politely until nightfall. Indeed the only unusual thing that night was how Rosalie had asked Bella to accompany her to the washroom, and how Emmett had followed behind them and stood in the aisle outside the door like some sort of sentry while the ladies prepared for night.

They soon after unhinged and folded down the bunks, locked the door and pulled the shades down, and Bella found herself falling asleep to the sounds of the train as the rhythmic motion rocked her to sleep.

WWWWWW

_Author's Note: Actions almost here! Same deal as last time, if you review before next chapter is posted you get a preview. Expect Chapter 4 out tomorrow!_


	4. Romantic at Heart

**Title: Manifesting Destiny**

**Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead finds herself befriending a man who falls in love with someone else's mail-order bride. A romantic at heart, Bella offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter Four: Romantic at Heart

The next morning dawned and Bella woke bright and early to the feel of the sun on her skin. Through the partially drawn window shade she looked up at a white, bright but cloudy sky. Overnight they had moved into land covered in a layer of glistening snow, and the filtered sunlight seemed to reflect from everything at once.

Beside her Emmett was latching his bunk back in place, still dressed in his night clothes. It was a strangely intimate sight and she was a little relieved when he gathered his morning necessities and exited the cabin without noticing she had woken.

She dressed quickly and gathered her own morning items, before heading to the washroom herself. When she returned she found Rosalie still asleep and Emmett now returned and sitting once again in his seat, gazing at her.

"Do you suppose we should wake her up?" She asked when he met her eyes.

"No," he replied. "She had a long day yesterday, I think she could use the sleep."

At his reference her curiosity returned full force, warring with her sense of decency. She looked at Rosalie, still sleeping soundly despite the tense set of her eyebrows. Finally she cracked. "Can I ask what happened yesterday?"

She was absolutely determined to not ask another thing if he said not to, but luckily her resolve was not tested when he just sighed, ran a hand through his short, curly hair and began to speak.

Some things he said she had already guessed at. Rosalie and Emmett had been in the main cabin, along with a dozen other passengers. He had noticed her right off because of her uncommon beauty, and so noticed when she left to go to the washroom. His voice hardened when he told of seeing a questionable looking man follow shortly behind her. When neither returned after a few minutes, his sense of foreboding had carried him out of the cabin as well.

He skimmed details, seeming not to want to think on it at all, but Bella got the gist. He had found exactly what he had hoped not to and he had intervened. His left hand unconsciously skimmed over the knuckles of his right hand as he talked.

The noise drew a train employee, who arranged to have the man removed from the train, as well as the ticket taker, through whom Emmett had paid immediately to upgrade his and Rosalie's tickets to get her out of the main cabin and somewhere more private.

"I was going to just switch hers, but she wouldn't let go of my hand, and honestly I didn't really want to let her out of my sight. I figured she'd feel better with another woman around after all that mess." Bella nodded her head in agreement with his words, understanding now what had led to the two of them joining her in the cabin.

She thought back to the platform in Chicago. It had been mostly empty, the wrong season for travel as the man at the ticket counter had mentioned when she asked about seating arrangements. There had only been about three dozen people waiting to board where she had, and she'd noticed even then the general lack of women and the overabundance of roughened, working men.

At the time she hadn't noticed Rosalie, or Emmett for that matter-perhaps they had boarded elsewhere-but she had no trouble at all believing that if he had been searching for two seats in a cabin with only women, hers might well have been the only choice.

Shortly after their talk Rosalie woke, leaving them to quit the topic and move on to other things. The day passed smoothly, the silences much less awkward and the conversation much less stiff. Bella told them about the stories she'd been reading in the penny westerns, which Emmett made great fun of as it turned out he was returning to a home out there and felt he was an expert on the topic of all things western, even those that did not have anything to do with the area he lived in. Bella and even at times Rosalie dissolved into laughter at his grandstanding, which only encouraged his efforts.

As the days of travel passed, Bella revealed that she was in a sense returning home as well, though to what she was not sure. When she mentioned Forks Emmett had quizzed her for nearly an hour on what she could remember. Apparently he was from nearby, having worked as a logger north of her hometown before a death in the family drew him East. He said he now planned to buy up some land and set up a house, maybe try his hand at farming. If Rosalie noticed his furtive look toward her when he mentioned settling down in a house of his own making, she didn't let on, seemingly lost in her own thoughts on the subject.

For their part Bella and Emmett failed to find much overlap in their knowledge. He had been living at a camp a half day's ride from the town of Forks after all, and had not spent much time there. She had been so young when she moved that all she could offer was her father's name, which he did not recognize, and the vague memories of big trees.

Rosalie listened intently to their talk, and surprised them both by announcing that she too was headed to the area. The sheer, childlike happiness that overtook Emmett's face when he heard that news was extinguished rather abruptly when she went on to say that she was to be married when she arrived, and his expression darkened further when she named a Mr. Edward Cullen as her soon-to-be-husband.

Bella watched all this and the way her two companions gazed at each other, and felt a determination growing in her. She couldn't help but think there was some fate at work here, throwing the three of them together as they traveled halfway across the country to nearly the same place.

Despite her unusual upbringing and fascination with adventure stories, she was at heart a romantic. Traveling all this way had given her a sense of independence and power, she felt accomplished with herself. All this combined as she watched Rosalie and Emmett gaze and blush at each other, and by the time the end of the line approached she was determined that not only was fate throwing them together for a reason, but that it had thrown her in too to make sure everything worked out.

When morning dawned on the last day of the trip, Bella looked at her disheartened friends and made her decision. She would help these two stay together, now they just needed a plan.


	5. First Sight

**Title: Manifesting Destiny**

**Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead finds herself befriending a man who falls in love with someone else's mail-order bride. A romantic at heart, Bella offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter Five: First Sight

*Edward*

Edward waited until the train came to a complete stop before rising from his seat. Through the windows he saw people standing and moving about, but could not really make out enough.

He scanned those exiting, looking for a woman with an aster, and mentally cursed himself for allowing Alice to send him here with so little. Surely they could have arranged a better sign than a small flower? And his holding a book at a train station? Plenty of people brought reading material here, his did not stand out much. He wished for the first time that he knew what she looked like, even just the color of her hair, just so he could find her quickly and be saved this uneasy moment.

The only thing he allowed was in his favor was the overall lack of woman present. He saw a mother with a small child, but was sure his future wife had not been married before, and an older woman who was altogether too old to be who he was waiting for. He saw a dark haired, dark complexioned woman maybe a few years younger than himself, but she was greeted enthusiastically by a young man waiting a few yards down the platform.

Minutes passed by, and the only other candidate Edward saw was a pretty blonde woman who exited the train with a large man. But she had no flower visible, and though her eyes scanned the platform strangely, she seemed to sink into the side of the man with her. The man, Edward thought, looked vaguely familiar.

Edward watched as he pulled several pieces of luggage down from the train, setting two beside the blonde woman while carrying on a conversation with someone still in the train and out of sight.

He was one of the lumber workers, Edward suddenly realized, McCarty. He didn't know the man well, but he had heard of him traveling back East for some inheritance. Carlisle had mentioned just a few weeks prior that he was inquiring into buying up the land adjacent to Edward's ranch to build his own.

He hadn't heard of him bringing home a wife, but it made sense really. It was probably much easier to find a bride in the city and bring her out. Edward had certainly had no luck finding anyone worth marrying out here.

Because his eyes were still on the man he loosely knew, he saw right away when he embraced a woman now coming off the train, his giant form overtaking her smaller one, before stepping away with a smile and grabbing the two bags by his feet. The girl he had embraced reached down and picked up her own valise, and waved as McCarty and his wife hurried off the platform into the station.

Edward watched, transfixed, as this new candidate visibly took a breath and then looked around. He watched her scan the few people still on the platform quickly, her eyes meeting his almost immediately.

She was nearly at the opposite end of the platform, but even from the distance Edward took in her dark eyes, her pink cheeks, and her small figure. She had a strange expression on her face, and seemed to take him in as well.

It took him a moment to break away from her face and search, anxiously, for a flower he hoped to find. He couldn't see it. Her overcoat was a dark brown, with bits of a blue dress peeking out of the bottom, a plain brown hat pulled down over dark brown hair. Over all that she had a dark purplish, maybe blue shawl.

His heart dropped in disappointment even as he took a step and began walking to her. She was the last one off the train, there were no other women of the right age about, and she seemed to be alone and looking for someone. He saw her gaze linger on the book in his hand, and an errant thought that perhaps he couldn't see the flower from here ran through his mind. As he approached she turned and headed into the station. He followed slowly behind.

A gust of wind hit the platform as she opened the station door, it whipped her shawl off one shoulder and fluttered her coat around her form violently. Edward himself had time to grab his hat before the gust hit him, and stopped his walking until the wind passed.

He closed his eyes against the biting cold and felt something smack him in the face.

When he opened his eyes the girl was gone, leaving behind a faint smell of flowers. At his feet lay a crumpled aster.

WWWWWW


	6. The Simplest Plans

**Title: Manifesting Destiny**

**Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead finds herself befriending a man who falls in love with someone else's mail-order bride. A romantic at heart, Bella offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter Six: The Simplest Plans

*Bella*

The plan was fairly simple. As soon as the train arrived, Emmett and Rosalie would leave together and head straight to the courthouse, where they would be wed. From there they planned to spend a night at the station hotel. Bella was to find Mr. Cullen, stall him to be sure they had time to be married, and then explain to him what was going on.

Emmett planned to pay him what he had paid to have Rosalie travel out, as a refund of sorts, and hope the matter ended there. Even if it didn't, by the time Mr. Cullen knew his bride had effectively been hijacked, Emmett and Rosalie would already be married and it would be too late.

Emmett had described Mr. Cullen to Bella so she would know what to look for, and Rosalie had added that he should be holding a book. She assured Bella that she had never given much description of herself, so he would not know her, and gave Bella the aster she had pressed and brought with her, which Bella put in her pocket. Bella thought she'd be able to find the man, but if not she would bring out the flower and then he would perhaps find her.

It wasn't until she was standing on the platform looking around that the consequences of her plan finally hit her. She'd been so focused on helping her new friends make a love match that she had completely disregarded that she would be effectively taking a probably much-anticipated bride away from a man she had never met. Though she tried to console herself that a man who had to go to such extremes to find a wife was probably a questionable character himself, it did little to soothe her growing shame.

She recognized him immediately. Emmett had described the man fairly well, from his reddish hair to his light eyes (he hadn't remembered the color) and pale face. He was even dressed in gray as Emmett had predicted.

What she hadn't anticipated was his handsomeness. His face was all angles and hard lines, with thick brows half hidden under the low brim of his hat. She mentally cursed Emmett for not warning her that the man was so good looking, and then had a half-hysterical mental image of her burly friend doing just that.

She diverted her eyes from his intense scrutiny to note the book he held in his hand. This was him for sure.

Time, she reminded herself, she needed to take up some time. She needed to calm herself down and perhaps warm up a bit before she could give him this news.

With that thought, Bella turned toward the station door. A gust of wind nearly knocked her sideways when she entered, the cold air going straight through her layers. She adjusted her errant shawl as she looked around and then approached the counter Emmett had told her about. Whatever else happened, she needed to arrange a ride to Forks.

The station wasn't busy, and there was no line at the counter so Bella quickly found herself talking to a bored gentleman who informed her that there was a mail carriage to Forks that left the next morning which she could purchase a seat on. It left at dawn from the postal office next door and she was informed she could buy her ticket now or just wait and pay for it tomorrow.

Just to be safe, Bella decided to wait and got directions to the hotel Emmett and Rosalie would be staying in tonight. Perhaps they would all ride out tomorrow together.

That settled, Bella finally turned away from the counter.

And straight into Mr. Cullen.

Letting out an unladylike squeak, she raised a hand to her pounding heart and exclaimed "Mr. Cullen!"

She recognized her mistake immediately, but it was too late. His eyes narrowed as he handed her something. "You dropped something." It was the aster. She looked down at it, then back at him, but he was now looking passed her at the counter. "Planning to go somewhere, were you?"

His dark stare turned back to her and she felt the words leave her. He looked so angry, angrier than anyone had ever looked with her before, and the force of him stunned her.

When she didn't respond quickly enough his expression managed to tighten even more. With a jerk he reached down and grabbed the suitcase from her hand. The movement so surprising and forceful that she involuntarily took a half step back. That, apparently, was the wrong thing to do as he let out a sound that was nearly a growl and used his free hand to grasp her arm.

He didn't say anything as he pulled her outside, and she just stared at him in shock, trying to process this new twist on the situation.

Suddenly the grim look that crossed Emmett's face every time Mr. Cullen's name came up came to mind. She had thought he seemed wary of dealing with this particular man, and if Emmett was wary of him, it just intensified the cagey feelings she already had.

The cold wind hit the pair of them again as they crossed a street, and Bella shivered violently. She felt Mr. Cullen's hand release its punishing grip on her arm even as he pulled her in closer and angled them so that he took the brunt of the weather. The unexpected gesture knocked her further off guard and she found herself above all else unnerved and confused as he finally pulled her into a new, thankfully heated building.

He let go of her now, and she had a moment to shake the snow from her shawl and hat as he spoke to an older lady seated at a desk across the room. Her ears were positively freezing, nearly throbbing with the cold, and when she reached her hands up to try to warm them up it actually hurt.

From the corner of her eye she saw movement, and looked up just in time to see Emmett and Rosalie duck down a side hallway. Emmett shot her a look, to which she gestured frantically that he should move on. She hoped they had gotten married already, because her attempt at stalling Mr. Cullen wasn't working well. Just as Emmett's head disappeared back around the corner, Bella felt an arm slide across her lower back and tug her around.

"This way."

His voice was curt, and he steered her quickly down a hallway near where Emmett had been, and through a marked door. An older man was in this room filling out some paperwork, and Bella listened in dawning horror as he said a very brief few words while Mr. Cullen signed a piece of paper.

"I do." The man beside her nearly growled, shoving the paper towards her roughly.

She looked down at what she could only assume was a marriage certificate. A pen was put in her hand as the elderly man asked her a question. Her ears throbbed and she felt she might just faint.

She needed to explain, and turned to Mr. Cullen to open her mouth and let the words finally come out.

His glare was intense, an actual pressure on her, and instead of the long and detailed explanation she had planned out on the train, a brief image of Emmett and Rosalie ducking down the hallway came to mind. They might not have had time to get married yet, they had come here so quickly, and she needed to buy more time.

"I…" she began. Time, she needed more time. Somehow she had to make sure Emmett and Rosalie had time to get married and get to the hotel. A horrifying thought came to mind of Mr. Cullen just ripping up their marriage certificate. Surely if he caught them before they even left the building they could just annul the thing or something. If they could just make it to the hotel, the marriage would be solid.

"I.."

Beside her Mr. Cullen was tense and radiating anger as he tried to mentally will her into talking, into signing the damn paper.

He gritted his teeth together and leaned toward her, the hand he had still on her back clenching involuntarily.

"I…do?" It squeaked out as a question, hardly audible and quickly followed by an unmistakable look of absolute horror.

"Great!" The jubilant voice of the elderly man before them came out of nowhere and forced Bella to turn back to him in shock. "Now just sign this paper honey and you two lovebirds can be on your way. That storm out there is looking pretty bad, huh?"

Mr. Cullen said something back about the weather, while Bella finally signed her name on the form before her, finalizing her fate. She felt like a prisoner walking off to her execution as she was led out of the building.

They walked slower now that it was done. Mr. Cullen felt some relief with the paper in hand as he led them to the hotel in town. It was too late to travel home in such weather; they would bunk here overnight and then leave in the morning. Beside him his new wife seemed shocked and nearly comatose.

He checked them in to the hotel quickly, ordered a dinner to be sent up and made arrangements with the clerk to send word to the stable regarding his horses. Finally he led his bride to their room for the night.

Through all this and dinner Bella said not one word, and in fact seemed barely aware of her surroundings. She ate a little for dinner, and drank the wine that Mr. Cullen poured her without seeming to taste it.

He for his part didn't try to converse with her and instead studied her, deep in thought. To be honest, when he was planning out this day and the ones to follow it, he had had no intention of acting like a regular new husband. He had planned to travel home today, perhaps set his new wife up in the room next to his, and then sometime in the future deal with the physical aspect of being married once they were no longer strangers.

But the storm had forced his hand on sharing a room immediately, and the events of the day had unnerved him with the possibility of his new bride fleeing at the first opportunity. He had the distinct impression that he had better consummate this marriage immediately.

But how to go about it exactly?

WWWWWW


	7. First Touch

**Title: Manifesting Destiny**

**Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead finds herself befriending a man who falls in love with someone else's mail-order bride. A romantic at heart, Bella offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer.**

_Author's Note: The M rating for this story is about to be earned. _

Chapter Seven: First Touch

The room was warmed by a fire, and they had both shed their outer clothes and hats. She had seemed slight at the train station, but without her overcoat and shawl, in just her traveling clothes she struck him as delicate. Breakable. And obviously still in shock.

So he plied her with wine.

He'd had a rather uncomfortable conversation with his uncle weeks earlier, and the suggestion that his bride have a little drink in her had been made. He figured now if one was good, surely three was better?

When the dinner was finished and the bottle of wine empty, he placed everything on a tray and set it outside their door. He gave himself a moment in the hallway to steel up his courage, and came back inside to find his new wife still sitting in her chair by the fire, nursing her last glass of wine.

It was time, he decided, and so he gathered his night things and retreated to the adjoining washroom to clean up and change. He made quick work of things, but tried to be thorough, all the while envisioning his bride sneaking out the door of their room while he was busy. He emerged to see her instead dozing by the fire, and cleared his throat before suggesting she prepare herself for bed. If his voice shook as he spoke she didn't acknowledge it.

In the washroom Bella took her time. The weeks of travel and the hectic day were wearing heavily on her. She had resigned herself during dinner to having married a man she didn't know, and who thought she was someone else. She'd run through all sorts of animated daydreams on how to get out of her current situation until her very imagination was tired. She had never in her life been more drained, and the wine was beginning to make her dizzy. So she went through the motions, washing up, taking the pins out of her hair and exchanging her stiff traveling clothes for the comfort of her night clothes.

She tried to braid her hair but her arms would not cooperate so she gave it up.

She emerged from the washroom to find the room darkened, and climbed into the bed, ready for sleep. It was only when she felt the other side of the bed dip that she realized she would not be sleeping alone.

Edward was slightly surprised when she went came out of the washroom and climbed straight into bed without a word. He wasn't sure what he expected, but he expected some sort of reaction. He had already darkened the lights, leaving only the fire to light the space, and even then he had placed the mesh grate in front of the hearth to help darken the room. It had been another suggestion of Carlisle's, that his bride would likely be very nervous about him seeing her.

He wasn't sure whether her lack of reaction proved that false or was due to his taking measures to darken the room. He wasn't sure of much, really.

With a steadying breathe, Edward pulled back the covers and climbed into the bed. He took a moment, his eyes adjusting still, and then reached out to the still form of his wife. She was laid on her side facing away from him, so he put his hand on her shoulder and turned her towards him. Her gasp at the contact was audible.

His eyes had adjusted to the faint firelight now, and so he took in her pale face in the dark. Her wide eyes looked up at his, their faces closer now than ever before. Slowly, gently, he moved closer, his lips lightly touching hers in a tentative first kiss.

He held the kiss for a moment, taking in the way her lips felt pressed against his, then he pressed forward.

Bella received his soft kisses. When he had touched her shoulder her nerves had shot through the roof while her stomach seemed to fall through the floor. She had honestly not thought this far ahead. But the tender way he kissed her lips was like a balm, calming her. She had never been so close to a man before, and the scent of him, the feel of his large hand still pressing on her shoulder was overwhelming.

He nudged her mouth open with his tongue, and suddenly she could taste him too. It was sensory overload, with so many new things to focus on. As their kisses turned deeper he shifted over her. His hand left her shoulder and skimmed down her side leaving a trail of gooseflesh under her nightclothes. It stopped at her outer thigh, gripping the fabric, and began to pull back up. With his other hand he cradled her head, holding her to him as he delved into her mouth. He had never kissed someone like this, and neither had she, but they both followed their instincts.

At one point he pulled back slightly to look at her, flushed as she was, but she reached up without thinking twice and pulled his face back to hers. Her hands slipped into his soft hair and her nails scratched lightly at his scalp.

The sensation she caused sent a shiver through him, and he responded by dropping down onto her further. A familiar pressure was mounting in him, and the need for friction grew. She was so soft below him, his hand skimming bare skin now beneath her night dress. He had not imagined it would be like this. He had tried not to imagine anything at all.

Below him Bella was swept up in the moment. She was drunk on the wine and his kisses in equal measure. She was wrapped up in the sensations he brought out in her, having trouble focusing on any one thing. She felt his hand brush her breast, having not even realized it was beneath her shift until that moment, and surprised herself when she pressed her chest up towards him, wanting to feel more. He responded to her fervor.

The action caused her to gasp roughly, tearing their mouths apart as she drew in a shuddering breath. The sound shot straight to Edward's groin and he released her head, his free hand going between them. There were entirely too many clothes between them now, and the time, he decided, had come.

The only sounds now were their gasping breathes and the rustling of fabric.

Edward adjusted his position, bringing them into alignment. He steeled his nerves and returned his lips to hers. He gave a lighter kiss now than they had just shared and pressed forward.

He could feel the tension in her body as he moved, and the moment she cringed away from him. Pausing his motion, he ran his hand along her side in what he hoped was a soothing gesture as he pressed small kisses to her lips. The heat of her was intense, and it took great effort to still his natural movements as he waited for her tension to relax. When she finally seemed to, he moved again, letting his instincts guide him now.

It didn't take long after that, both of them overwhelmed as they were. When it was done, Edward rested his head at the crook of her neck, both of them calming their breathing. Eventually he shifted over and they both straightened their clothes. Exhaustion was prevalent now, and a growing embarrassment. Sleep claimed them quickly.

WWWWWW


	8. Introductions

**Title: Manifesting Destiny**

**Summary: When Bella travels West to find her father she instead finds herself befriending a man who falls in love with someone else's mail-order bride. A romantic at heart, Bella offers to help the couple and speak to the intended husband. If only he would listen.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephanie Meyer.**

Chapter Eight: Introductions

Dawn broke the next morning, bright and sunny. The storm had passed, leaving a smooth layer of new snow in its wake. The clouds were mostly cleared away. Edward woke first. He cleaned up quickly and went downstairs to procure breakfast. It was a perfunctory trip marked only by his spotting McCarty again. The man gave him a strange look and seemed almost to want to say something, but did not approach him. Edward thought on it as he returned with the tray to his room but had no explanation. He had hardly ever spoken to the man, and they were not friends.

In the room he saw that his wife had left the bed, and from the sounds he surmised she was in the washroom. He busied himself setting out the breakfast things, and then packing up his few belongings. The plan was to leave after breakfast. It might be slow going to get home, and he wanted to get home by afternoon at least.

Behind him the door opened and he heard his wife pad out. Edward turned to greet her. "Good morning."

Her gaze flickered to his briefly as she responded to his words, but it settled on the table set out with breakfast.

"I brought up some breakfast. Once we've eaten I'd like to get going. The storm is over but the roads have a couple inches snow and it will take a while to reach the house."

She nodded her head to show she heard him but otherwise did not respond.

They ate quietly.

"Mr. Cullen,"

"Edward, please."

"Right, Edward, there's something I have to tell you." She took a breath and chanced a look up to find his curious gaze on her.

"I'm not Miss Hale." She cringed as the words came out.

Edward was visibly confused. He wasn't sure what she was telling him, and settled on a simple response. "What?"

"My name is Isabella Swan." Again she cringed, and again he just looked at her and furrowed his brow.

"Yes…?" He knew her name, though to tell the truth he had peeked at it on the wedding certificate only this morning. He hadn't bothered to learn it before, but it seemed pertinent that he have something to call her.

Bella didn't understand why he was being so dense, and she was having trouble finding words to explain their predicament.

She was quiet as she contemplated a quick way to clarify her point. Perhaps there was no quick way to explain the mess she had gotten herself into.

"I came here looking for my father." She settled on explaining things from the beginning. "On the train I met a woman named Rosalie Hale who was traveling here to marry a man she had never met. But she fell in love with another man on the train, and they wanted to get married."

She chanced a look at his face now, which still showed only confusion at her story. "We talked and decided they should get married and that I would wait for her fiancée and explain what had happened. Apparently they had never met before, so we hoped he would not be too attached. But when we arrived his mistook me for her, and . . . now here we are."

It took a moment for Edward to process how her strange story applied to the pair of them, and she could see he was trying not to.

"But, you had the flower…"

"In my pocket. It must have fallen out. She gave it to me in case I couldn't find you, but Emmett described you fairly well so I didn't need it."

"Emmett?" The name was familiar. Suddenly he remembered the way McCarty had looked at him this morning, as though waiting for Edward to speak to him. "McCarty."

"Yes, Emmett McCarty. I believe he knows you?"

Edward nodded absently as he replayed their whole acquaintance. He realized now that this Rosalie Hale, his fiancée apparently, must have been that blonde woman he'd seen with McCarty at the station.

He was quiet for a long time. And Bella watched him, wondering what he must be thinking. After several minutes he drank down the rest of his coffee and stood.

"Gather your things," he reached a hand out to help her up. "It's time to go home."

Bella looked up at him, meeting his gaze, and slipped her hand into his.

THE END

_Author's Note: So this is the end of the short version. Like I said in AN's at the start, I'm working on a much longer version of this plot idea, so if there is anything particular you like or don't like about what's posted please let me know!_


End file.
